Golf club head with elevated face

ABSTRACT

A driver type golf club head ( 20 ) preferably having a body ( 21 ) defined by a crown ( 22 ), a face ( 23 ) and a sole ( 24 ). The face ( 23 ) has an elevated height, h 1,  as measured from a lower edge ( 23   b ) of the face ( 23 ) to the ground. The height, h 1,  is preferably at least 0.3 inch from the ground.

CROSS REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

Not Applicable

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not Applicable

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a golf club head. More specifically,the present invention relates to a golf club head having an elevatedface.

2. Description of the Related Art

Existing driver heads are generally designed such that when the club issoled on the ground, the bottom of the striking face is near the ground.As a result, there are limits to how low the cg of the head can beplaced relative to the striking face. As driver sizes increase towardsUSGA limit dimensions (5″×5″×2.8″), especially in depth, these shapeshave a common deficiency in that the cg tends to be high, relative tothe face center normal. As a result these drivers, many of which have adepth approaching 5″, appreciatively have large Izz and Iyy moment ofinertia values, but also center of gravity, (“CG”) positions that aredeep and high, which is unfavorable. The high CG position results inshots that have excess backspin which causes a less preferable ballflight and reduced distance.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The current invention allows for the forgiveness advantages typical of alarge, deep driver, while having the added advantages of reducedbackspin and improved trajectory and distance. It is hypothesized thatthe distribution of ball strikes on the face will migrate to follow thecenter of the face. This is in part due to visual perception that thepreferred hit location is at the center of the face. Thus, as the faceand center are raised further off the ground, so too will the hitdistribution.

The current invention is a driver type golf club head comprising acrown, a sole, a front wall having a perimeter, and a face. There is aheel wall extending 4.0 inches to 5.0 inches rearward from the perimeterof the front wall. Additionally, there is a rear wall substantiallyperpendicular to the heel wall, and a toe wall substantiallyperpendicular to the rear wall, the toe wall extending from 4.0 inchesto 5.0 inches from a rear edge of the toe wall.

The face has a first height, h1, measured from the ground to the bottomof the face, a second height, h2, measured from the ground to the centerof the face and a third height, h3, measured from the ground to the topof the face, when a golf club is at address.

The first height, h1 is at least 0.3 inch above the ground when the golfclub head is at address. The golf club head has a volume ranging from400 cubic centimeters to 470 cubic centimeters, a moment of inertia,Izz, about the center of gravity of the golf club head greater than 5000grams-centimeters squared, and a moment of inertia, Iyy, above thecenter of gravity of the club head greater than 3500 grams-centimeterssquared.

The ratio of h2/h3 is at least, if not greater than, 0.57 and the heightof the center of gravity is at least, if not greater than, 0.060 inchrelative to the face center normal. The measurement of h1 is preferablymore than 0.3 inch when a golf club is at address at a lie angle ofsixty degrees and a face angle of zero degree.

One aspect of the present invention is a driver type golf club head. Thegolf club head includes a body with an elevated face. The body has acrown portion, a front wall having a perimeter and a sole portion. Thebody also has a heel wall, a toe wall and a rear wall. The heel wallextends 4.0 inches to 5.0 inches rearward from the perimeter of thefront wall and the rear wall is substantially perpendicular to the heelwall. The toe wall is substantially perpendicular to the rear wall, andthe toe wall extends from 4.0 inches to 5.0 inches from the rear edge ofthe toe wall. The face on the front wall has a first height, h1,measured from the ground to the bottom of the face, a second height, h2,measured from the ground to the center of the face and a third height,h3, measured from the ground to the top of the face. When then the golfclub head is at address with a lie angle of 60 degrees and a face angle0 degrees, h1 is at least 0.3 inch above the ground. Preferably, theratio of h2/h3 is at least, if not greater than, 0.57. The height of thecenter of gravity is at least, if not greater than, 0.060 inch relativeto the face center normal. The golf club head has a volume ranging from400 cubic centimeters to 470 cubic centimeters, a moment of inertia,Izz, about the center of gravity of the golf club head greater than 5000grams-centimeters squared, and a moment of inertia, Iyy, above thecenter of gravity of the club head greater than 3500 grams-centimeterssquare.

A second aspect of the present invention is a golf club head. The golfclub head has a body having a face wall, a crown wall, a sole wall, aheel wall, a rear wall, and a toe wall. The face wall has anapproximately rectangular shape and the face wall has a variablethickness. The golf club head has a volume ranging from 400 cubiccentimeters to 470 cubic centimeters, a moment of inertia about the Izzaxis through the center of gravity of the golf club head which isgreater than 5000 grams-centimeters squared, and a moment of inertia,Iyy, above the center of gravity of the club head greater than 3500grams-centimeters squared. The face wall has a first height, h1,measured from the ground to the bottom of the face, a second height, h2,measured from the ground to the center of the face and a third height,h3, measured from the ground to the top of the face, when then the golfclub head is at address. When the golf club is at address at a lie angleof preferably sixty degrees and a face angle of zero degree, h1 is atleast 0.3 inch above the ground. The height of the center of gravity isat least, if not greater than, 0.060 inch relative to the face centernormal. The ratio of h2/h3 is at least, if not greater than, 0.57.

Another aspect of the present invention is a golf club head. The golfclub head has a face component composed of a metal material. The facecomponent has a striking plate portion and a return portion. Coupled tothe return potion of the face component is a substantially squareaft-body. The length of the face component coupled to the aft-bodyranges from 4 inches to 5 inches. The striking plate portion has a firstheight, h1, measured from the ground to the bottom of the face, a secondheight, h2, measured from the ground to the center of the face and athird height, h3, measured from the ground to the top of the face, whena golf club is at address. When the golf club is at address at a lieangle of sixty degrees and a face angle of zero degree, h1 is at least0.3 inch above the ground. The ratio of h2/h3 is at least, if notgreater than, 0.57. The golf club head has a volume ranging from 400cubic centimeters to 470 cubic centimeters, a moment of inertia, Izz,about the center of gravity of the golf club head greater than 5000grams-centimeters squared, a moment of inertia, Iyy, above the center ofgravity of the golf club head greater than 3500 grams-centimeterssquared. The height of the center of gravity is at least, if not greaterthan, 0.060 inch relative to the face center normal.

Having briefly described the present invention, the above and furtherobjects, features and advantages thereof will be recognized by thoseskilled in the pertinent art from the following detailed description ofthe invention when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a bottom plan view of a golf club head.

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of a golf club head.

FIG. 3 is a top perspective view of a golf club head.

FIG. 4 is a top perspective view of a golf club head.

FIG. 5 is a toe side view of a golf club head.

FIG. 6 is a heel side view of a golf club head.

FIG. 6A is a heel side view of a golf club head.

FIG. 6B is a heel side view of a golf club head.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

As shown in FIGS. 1-6, a golf club of the present invention is generallydesignated 20. The golf club head 20 preferably includes a body21defined by a crown 22, a face 23, a sole 24, a heel end 25, a toe end26 and an aft end 27. A leading edge 30 of the sole 24 is theforwardmost lowest point of the sole 24 at address. A lowest edge 23 bof the face 23 is adjacent to a forwardmost edge of the sole 24.

As shown in FIG. 6A, the face 23 has a first height, h1, measured fromthe ground to a lowest edge 23 b of the face 23 when a golf clubutilizing the golf club head 20 is at address. The face 23 alsopreferably has a second height, h2, measured from the ground to a facecenter “FC” of the face 23 when then the golf club head is at address.The face 23 also has a third height, h3, measured from the ground to anupper edge 23 a of the face 23, when then the golf club head is ataddress.

The first height, h1 is preferably at least 0.3 inch above the groundwhen a golf club utilizing the golf club head 20 is at address, and morepreferably 0.31 inch to 0.50 inch above the ground when a golf clubutilizing the golf club head 20 is at address.

In a preferred embodiment, the golf club head 20 has a volume rangingfrom 400 cubic centimeters to 470 cubic centimeters, a moment ofinertia, Izz, about the center of gravity of the golf club head greaterthan 5000 grams-centimeters squared, and a moment of inertia, Iyy, abovethe center of gravity of the club head greater than 3500grams-centimeters squared.

Additionally in a preferred embodiment, the ratio of h2/h3 is at least,is not greater than, 0.57. As shown in FIG. 6B, the height of a centerof gravity of the golf club head 20, “CG”, is at least, if not greaterthan 0.060 inch relative to a face center normal line 31. Also in thepreferred embodiment, the measurement of h1 is preferably more than 0.3inch when the golf club head is addressed at a lie angle of sixtydegrees and the face angle is zero degree.

The golf club head 20 is preferably composed of a single piece of metal,and is preferably composed of a cast metal material. More preferably,the cast metal material is a stainless steel material or a titaniummaterial such as pure titanium and titanium alloys such as 6-4 titaniumalloy, SP-700 titanium alloy (available from Nippon Steel of Tokyo,Japan), DAT 55G titanium alloy available from Diado Steel of Tokyo,Japan, Ti 10-2-3 Beta-C titanium alloy available from RTI InternationalMetals of Ohio, and the like. Alternatively, the golf club head 20 ismanufactured through forging, welding, forming, machining, powderedmetal forming, metal-injection-molding, electrochemical milling, and thelike.

The face 23 preferably has variable thickness. Various variable facethickness patterns are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,471,603, for aContoured Golf Club Face, U.S. Pat. No. 6,368,234 for a Golf ClubStriking Plate Having Elliptical Regions Of Thickness, and U.S. Pat. No.6,398,666 for a Golf Club Striking Plate With Variable Thickness, whichare all owned by Callaway Golf Company and which pertinent parts arehereby incorporated by reference.

The golf club head 20 preferably has a high coefficient of restitutionthereby enabling for greater distance of a golf ball hit with the golfclub head. The coefficient of restitution (also referred to herein as“COR”) is determined by the following equation:

$e = \frac{v_{2} - v}{U_{1} - U_{2}}$

wherein U₁ is the club head velocity prior to impact; U₂ is the golfball velocity prior to impact which is zero; v₁ is the club headvelocity just after separation of the golf ball from the face of theclub head; v₂ is the golf ball velocity just after separation of thegolf ball from the face of the club head; and e is the coefficient ofrestitution between the golf ball and the club face.

The values of e are limited between zero and 1.0 for systems with noenergy addition. The coefficient of restitution, e, for a material suchas a soft clay or putty would be near zero, while for a perfectlyelastic material, where no energy is lost as a result of deformation,the value of e would be 1.0. The golf club head 20 preferably has acoefficient of restitution ranging from 0.81 to 0.94, as measured underconventional test conditions.

The mass of the golf club head 20 preferably ranges from 165 grams to250 grams, more preferably ranges from 175 grams to 230 grams, and mostpreferably from 190 grams to 205 grams.

The center of gravity and the moment of inertia of the golf club head 20is preferably measured using a test frame (X^(T), Y^(T), Z^(T)), andthen transformed to a head frame (X^(H), Y^(H), Z^(H)). The center ofgravity of a golf club head may be obtained using a center of gravitytable having two weight scales thereon, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No.6,607,452, entitled High Moment Of Inertia Composite Golf Club, andhereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

In general, the moment of inertia, Izz, about the Z axis for the golfclub head 20 preferably ranges from 2800 g-cm² to 5000 g-cm², preferablyfrom 3000 g-cm² to 4500 g-cm², and most preferably from 3750 g-cm² to4250 g-cm^(2.) The moment of inertia, Iyy, about the Y axis for the golfclub head 20 preferably ranges from 1500 g-cm² to 4000 g-cm², preferablyfrom 2000 g-cm² to 3500 g-cm², and most preferably from 2400 g-cm² to2900 g-cm². The moment of inertia, Ixx, about the X axis for the golfclub head 20 preferably ranges from 1500 g-cm² to 4000 g-cm², preferablyfrom 2000 g-cm to 3500 g-cm², and most preferably from 2500 g-cm² to3000 g-cm².

In general, the golf club head 20 preferably has products of inertiasuch as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,425,832, and is hereby incorporatedby reference in its entirety. Preferably, each of the products ofinertia, Ixy, Ixz and Iyz, of the golf club head 20 has an absolutevalue less than 100 grams-centimeter squared. Alternatively, the golfclub head 20 has a at least one or two products of inertia, Ixy, Ixz andIyz, with an absolute value less than 100 grams-centimeter squared.

A width of the golf club head 20 preferably ranges from 4.0 inches to5.5 inches, and most preferably from 4.75 inches to 5.0 inches. Theheight of the golf club head preferably ranges from 2.0 inches to 3.0inches, and most preferably ranges from 2.40 inches to 2.65 inches. Thelength of the golf club head preferably ranges from 3.5 inches to 5.5inches, and most preferably from 4.0 inches to 5.0 inches.

From the foregoing it is believed that those skilled in the pertinentart will recognize the meritorious advancement of this invention andwill readily understand that while the present invention has beendescribed in association with a preferred embodiment thereof, and otherembodiments illustrated in the accompanying drawings, numerous changes,modifications and substitutions of equivalents may be made thereinwithout departing from the spirit and scope of this invention which isintended to be unlimited by the foregoing except as may appear in thefollowing appended claims. Therefore, the embodiments of the inventionin which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined inthe following appended claims.

1. A driver type golf club head comprising: a body having a crown, a sole, and a face; wherein the face has a first height, h1, measured from the ground to a lower edge of the face, a second height, h2, measured from the ground to a center of the face, and a third height, h3, measured from the ground to an upper edge of the face; and wherein h1 is at least 0.3 inch above the ground when at address.
 2. The driver type golf club head in claim 1 wherein a volume of the body ranges from 400 cc to 470 cc.
 3. The driver type golf club head in claim 1 wherein the golf club head has a moment of inertia, Izz, about a center of gravity of the golf club head greater than 5000 grams-centimeters squared and a moment of inertia, Iyy, above the center of gravity greater than 3500 grams-centimeters squared.
 4. The driver type golf club head in claim 1 wherein a height of a center of gravity of the golf club head is at least 0.060 inch relative to a face center normal line.
 5. The driver type golf club head in claim 1 wherein a ratio of h2 divided by h3 is at least 0.57.
 6. The driver type golf club head in claim 1 wherein a length from the lower edge of the face to an aft end of the golf club head ranges from 4 inches to 5 inches.
 7. The driver type golf club head in claim 1 wherein address for a golf club utilizing the golf club head is at a lie angle of sixty degrees and a face angle of zero degree.
 8. A driver type golf club head comprising: a crown, a sole and a face having an upper edge and a lower edge; a length from the lower edge of the face to an aft end of the golf club head ranges from 4 inches to 5 inches wherein the face at address has a first height, h1, measured from the ground to the bottom of the face, a second height, h2, measured from the ground to the center of the face and a third height, h3, measured from the ground to the top of the face; wherein h1 is at least 0.3 inch above the ground at address; and wherein the golf club head has a volume ranging from 400 cubic centimeters to 470 cubic centimeters, a moment of inertia, Izz, about a center of gravity of the golf club head greater than 5000 grams-centimeters squared, and a moment of inertia, Iyy, above the center of gravity of the club head greater than 3500 grams-centimeters squared.
 9. The driver type golf club head in claim 8 wherein the ratio of h2/h3 is at least 0.57.
 10. The driver type golf club head in claim 8 wherein a height of the center of gravity of the golf club head is at least 0.060 inch relative to a face center normal line.
 11. The driver type golf club head in claim 8 wherein address for a golf club utilizing the golf club head is at a lie angle of sixty degrees and a face angle of zero degree.
 12. A golf club head comprising: a body having a face, a crown and a sole, the body composed of a titanium alloy material; wherein the golf club head has a volume ranging from 400 cubic centimeters to 470 cubic centimeters; wherein the face, at address, has a first height, h1, measured from the ground to a lower edge of the face, a second height, h2, measured from the ground to the center of the face and a third height, h3, measured from the ground to an upper edge of the face; wherein h1 is at least 0.3 inch above the ground; and wherein the golf club head has a moment of inertia about the Izz axis through a center of gravity of the golf club head which is greater than 5000 grams-centimeters squared, and a moment of inertia about the Ixx axis through the center of gravity of the golf club head which is greater than 3500 grams-centimeters squared.
 13. The driver type golf club head in claim 12 wherein a ratio of h2/h3 is at least 0.57.
 14. The driver type golf club head in claim 12 wherein a height of a center of gravity of the golf club head is at least 0.060 inch relative to a face center normal line.
 15. The driver type golf club head in claim 12 wherein address for a golf club utilizing the golf club head is at a lie angle of sixty degrees and a face angle of zero degree. 